Street Food Stands In China Know How To Do Breakfast Right

The late celebrity chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain once said, "Street food, I believe, is the salvation of the human race." Sampling street food is certainly one of the best ways to learn about a country's food scene, culture, and culinary traditions, and you get to do it while walking around outside and soaking in the smells, sights, and sounds of a vibrant city.

An old adage states that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and street food stands in China know how to get your morning started off right. A TikTok video posted by a woman who worked an internship in China shows a vendor preparing the breakfast she ate nearly every day while living there. The dish itself is a crepe filled with egg that you can get topped with extras such as cilantro, green onion, and garlic, that is then smeared with red bean paste. As if this weren't enticing enough, a piece of fried dough is added at the end. Besides looking and sounding fantastic, watching the cook spoon, spread, and fold the crepe is an engrossing art form in itself.

This morning offering is known as jianbing or a Chinese crepe, and it is a staple of China's street food breakfast scene that you can find pretty much anywhere people gather. But it's not the only street food breakfast item in China that draws crowds. In America, we love our pancakes for breakfast, and in China, food stalls hawk their own popular version called cong you bing, a savory scallion pancake featuring chopped scallions and green onions that melds soft and crispy textures. And what nation doesn't have its own twist on a doughnut? Another Chinese breakfast street food that pleases the masses is youtiao, golden brown, deep-fried dough sticks that almost resemble churros.

If you are fortunate enough to plan an excursion to China or other countries in the Far East or have the chance to live or work there, there are so many iconic street foods you can only find in Asia, which includes yet more delightful breakfast items, from the kaya toast of Singapore to the egg tarts of Hong Kong. Street food, whether eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack time, is often tasty and affordable and can teach us a lot about a place and its people.